I didn’t do anything wedding related today, except eat two Jordan almonds.  I’m limiting myself to two Jordan almonds a day.  And no more licorice. 

I feel like this is the lull before the storm.  Nothing is pressing right now. So I’m focusing my attention on getting things prepared for the programs that will start at church in September.  Once the wedding circus train starts rolling full steam, it will be nice to know things are set for Sunday school and Bible studies.  

It’s kinda hard to think about going back to regular life after the weddding. 

But then, there really isn’t such a thing as “regular” life, is there?  

A new adventure will be waiting!

Today is a day of rest.   And I ain’t kiddin’. 

Went to church, watched a movie, watched part of a ballgame, took a walk, read a book, watched another movie, went to bed.  Amen.

I was gone most of the day today, and it’s a good thing.  It’s getting dangerous around here.  There are bags and bags of candy on the dining room table.  The sweet treats are for the reception’s candy buffet, but I may have to put all that sugary temptation in a locked trunk…in the basement….with dynamite wrapped around it. 

I’ve always had a sweet tooth.  When I was a kid, there was a drawer in the kitchen that always had a bag of licorice in it.  I remember my mom stopping in at the drugstore on the way home from the dentist to buy me candy for being a good girl.  I often had a bad tummy ache on my birthday because the night before was Halloween and I had over-indulged in all the goodies from trick-or-treating.

Now I have to face boxes and boxes and pounds and pounds of candy every stinkin’ day.  That container of 100 pieces of licorice?  Well, there’s more like 95 pieces now.  And the 5# of Jordan almonds?  Uh…make that 4.8#.  I had to make sure the strawberry-banana taffy wasn’t too hard.  It wasn’t.  I needed to see if the raspberry drops really do takes like raspberries.  They do. 

Three more weeks.  I sure hope there’s some candy left.  I sure hope my dress still fits.

Today, PB loaded up a U-Haul trailor in Minnesota and unloaded the U-Haul trailor in Iowa.  And he’s driving back to Wisconsin tonight. 

When our oldest daughter moved out to Oregon, PB drove out with her. Leaving her out there was really tough for him.  Dads just want to protect their little girls.  It took a two day train ride home to pull himself together.  This time he’s only got a five hour car ride.  I’d better wait up for him.

 There’s a big empty space in the storage room where all her boxes were piled up. 

 Her bedroom will now be the guest room. 

 Huh. 

 It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the details that go into making a wedding day special and memorable.  Months of planning, list-making, and shopping are poured into this one day.  A person could get caught up in the details and lose sight of the point of all this!   

This morning, I felt a need to get grounded.  I had gone a few days without a quiet time and my spirit was dehydrated, so it was time for some Living Water.  I opened up my Bible to John 2 where Jesus was at a wedding and provided wine when they ran out.  I wonder if He could do that with cake pops.  Then I went to Matthew 22 where Jesus told a story about people who were invited to a wedding but didn’t RSVP so the host brought in others off the street to enjoy the celebration.  I guess we could do that.

But it was Revelation 19 that really got my attention.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”  Someday the church (that’s us) will be the Bride at a wedding to end all weddings.  It’s exciting to think that there are preparations going on right now for this big event that will be the climax, the culmination of an eternity of planning and preparation.  I really don’t care what is served at that reception (what will heavenly food taste like?!) or what I will be wearing (what will the bridal gown look like?!).  The only thing that will really matter is seeing my Beloved, my Savior, and rejoicing with Him. 

Just as the details will melt away when my daughter looks down the aisle to see the one she loves waiting for her.

Awhile ago some dear friends put on a lovely bridal shower for Anna.  Each guest was asked to write down a bit of advise for the bride-to-be.  It can be a real challenge to come up with profound bits of wisdom in a moment’s notice.  However, it does force one to condense what otherwise could become pages of counsel.  If you had to boil down years of ups and downs in marriage, what is the best advise you would give?

My beautiful sisters and friends didn’t disappoint.  Here’s what they wrote: 

Listen first.  Then talk.  It’s not 50/50.  It’s more like 110/110.  Take time to have fun.  It takes 10 positive remarks to balance 1 negative.  Love!  Love!  Love!

Pray together even when you don’t want to.  Have fun together even when you don’t feel like it.

Remember that your parents love you so much.  It’s not that they need to know everything you do – they just like being included in your daily lives because you will always be in their thoughts, even when you are 40 years old.

Be slow to anger and remember that neither opinion is necessarily right or wrong, just different.

Count your blessings…. Live well, laugh often, love much.

Marriage is give and take….we all need grace….continue to put God first, everything else will fall into place….

Make your home a haven that your husband can look forward to at the end of the day…greet him with a smile and a hug and tell him how much you love and respect him….your marriage will blossom. 

One card held a recipe for a happy marriage.  I chuckled at one of the ingredients: 1 small pinch in-laws. 

From the bridesmaid: Always be sure to cough when you flatulate.  (Good advise whether married or not.) 

And from the youngest shower guest: Take Dan to Knuckleheads (a local pizzeria and fun zone).

Good advise, all!!  Anything to add to this fantastic list?  Comment, please!

As I was facing another round of cake balls tonight, I thought it was high time to call in the recruits.  After all, there are able bodied people in this house besides me and PB.  At least they tend to show up at meal times.  It was time for the boys to begin to invest in this blessed family event, and not just by writing “help” on the bottom of their new brother-in-law’s shoes.  Besides, these boys are baseball players.  This was right up their alley.  It took a little doing, but I managed to pull them away from their video game, ESPN and smart phones (all at once, no less).  I’m a seasoned mom; I can still handle my 25 and 20 year old sons. 

First, I made them wash their hands.  They are boys.  No further explanation needed.

Then they listened intently as I demonstrated the art of rolling cake balls.

They won’t admit it, but it was kinda fun. 

They were pretty proud of their first ever cake balls.

It’s a good thing they are so darn good lookin’.  It’s saved them many times.

Here’s the sum total of their contribution: 4 cake balls.  Thanks, guys.

Make no mistake: they are manly men who would rather swing a hammer and….tape something with electricians tape…I guess.  Now, out of my kitchen.

I was beginning to wonder what I would do with myself when the wedding is over and the happy couple is off to Iowa for a new life together.  No more looking at wedding gawker, pinterest wedding, and all things wedding on etsy.  (Awesome websites that can gobble up hours of otherwise productive time.)  No more scouring Vinnie’s and Good Will for glass candy containers, vintage lace or cake stands.  No more making piles of all the things that will be loaded up and carted off to Iowa.  Whatever will become of me? 

Well, I’ll tell you what. 

 I’m going to become a GRANDMA!  Our oldest, who got married two years ago, is going to have a BABY!  I’m beside myself with joy!  Weddings, babies; babies, weddings….it’s all so wonderful I can hardly stand it!  My cup runneth over.

  Today is a day of rest.  I will not make one cake ball.  I will not check the RSVP list once.  I will not look at any candy websites.   I will not open my to-do list.

 I will rest. 

I will rest.

I will rest.

This morning I woke up thinking, “Gadzooks!” (I didn’t really think “Gadzooks”, it’s just fun to write “Gadzooks”).  I woke up thinking, “OMGoodness, I didn’t order the yellow Jordan almonds yet!”  Here’s when you know that things are getting out of hand: when your first thought of the day is yellow Jordan almonds.

We are doing a candy buffet at the reception and it’s been hard to stop buying candy.  I thought I was done, until this morning.   See, I did order pink Jordan almonds a few weeks ago, but I didn’t realize they had a chocolate layer under the candy coating.  Shipping Jordan almonds is fairly costly so I couldn’t send them back.  But I can’t eat chocolate (don’t feel sorry for me, it’s a blessing) and I really want to eat Jordan almonds at the reception.   Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Out of hand.

Weddings will do that to you.  Take a nice, normal person and turn you into a maniac who lives in a world where Jordan almonds are actually important.  Anyway, I ordered 5# of yellow Jordan almonds this morning and they will arrive well before the big day.  Whew!  That was close.

p.s. I also ordered Spanx today.